Getting Together President Joanne Creighton hosted a reception for more than fifty civic and business leaders from South Hadley and surrounding communities February 23 at the Willits-Hallowell Center. In a presentation to the leaders, Creighton reviewed current cooperation between Mount Holyoke and the town and mapped out her hopes for building stronger ties to local schools and residents. She also provided an overview of the College’s role—and stature—within higher education. Mary Jo Maydew, vice president for finance and administration, also spoke at the event, giving an overview of the many construction projects under way or due to start on campus. The reception was covered by the Springfield Union News February 24.

SAT Salon Diane Anci, MHC’s dean of admission, and Richard Steele, vice president of admissions and financial aid at Bowdoin College, talked about the philosophical underpinnings of their colleges’ decisions to make the SAT optional, and discussed the criteria that they use to judge applicants in the absence of standardized test scores, in “After the SAT, ”a February 22 Salon.com article. The piece was prompted by the University of California system’s announcement that it was considering dropping the test. Says Anci in the piece, “We found ourselves increasingly preoccupied with our students’ and their families’ preoccupation with the exam, and preparation for the exam. We began to imagine a world in which the young women who would consider a place like Mount Holyoke would take the time and the energy and the money that they would have devoted to test preparation, and give that time, energy, and money to a special talent or passion. Ultimately, we thought they would have a more well-rounded, satisfying high school career and potentially be better applicants to college. Read all about it at http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/02/22/sat/index.html.